“for last year’s words belong to last year’s language,
and next year’s words await another voice.”
-t.s. eliot
—
art credit: from children’s book, ‘the whisper’ written and illustrated by pamela zagarenski
a wonderful community initiative
happened in a nearby neighborhood
when they got together and purchased a ‘snow buddy’
anyone who is at least 18 can train and sign up
to take a turn clearing the sidewalks
each time it snows
all are welcome to take a shift
anytime i’ve seen someone
out in the snow buddy
they are always smiling
i’ll bet the whole neighborhood is smiling.
“summer friends will melt away like summer snows, but winter friends are friends forever.”
– george r.r. martin
as you step on, vacuum, sweep-up, curse, recycle
those painful and elusive pine needles
fallen from your wreaths, trees, garlands
stop a second to take a very close look
at the beauty of a sliced pine needle magnified
and you may see them in a new light.
—
“seven clans” – photo by elm mitchell
—
“the close-up says everything”
-marlon brando
as a collector of the classic golden books
i am endlessly fascinated
by their history, artwork, authors, short tales, and backstories
i finally found and ordered one i’d been looking for
“lucky mrs. ticklefeather”
which seems to have quickly made it’s way through multiple cities
only to land in detroit a few weeks ago
where is has remained
stuck in an ‘in transit’ status
ever since its arrival.
will *mrs. ticklefeather ever be found?
is she still considered lucky?
is there a rival golden book collector near me
looking for the same book?
does paul her pet puffin, have anything to do with this?
it remains to be seen and i remain hopeful
this story isn’t over yet.
—
*Book summary – Rare ~~ Mrs. Ticklefeather was a very thin old lady with a good sized feather in her hat, and on her feet she had tall black shoes with plenty of buttons. She lived on the top floor of a terribly high building because the top floor is the best place for getting sunshine, and, Oh, what a good thing sunshine is for thin old ladies. When her pet puffin, Paul, goes missing, the elderly Mrs. Ticklefeather becomes very upset, but the next day Paul returns and brings with him a special gift that brings her great and unexpected happiness. Great illustrations in mid- century yet modern style.
—
“hope is the last thing ever lost.”
italian proverb
many years ago
way back in first grade
i took thirty one cents
from hillman bailey III’s open desk
it was a matter of greed and opportunity
that spurred me on
i was really wanting candy from the store
sitting right in front of me
there appeared thirty one cents
almost dropping in my lap
i would repay hillman one day
when i got a job
at least this is all what i told myself
when i bought candy at the store
with my windfall
it didn’t taste as good as i expected
feeling lousy inside
i never told hillman
never made any attempt to make the situation right
but over the years i’ve thought about it
from time to time
today when paying cash at the grocery store
thirty one cents
dropped into the change slot
left it for the next person
maybe they had a child who wanted candy
silently said i was sorry
donated it back into the universe
on behalf of hillman bailey III
trying to make good on my word.
—
“guilt: the gift that keeps on giving.”
-erma bombeck
The lighter penguin is an elderly female whose partner died this year. The darker one is a younger male who lost his partner two years ago. Biologists have followed them as they meet every night to comfort each other. They stand for hours together watching the lights in Melbourne. Photographer Tobias Baumgaertner captured this image of two widowed fairy penguins looking over the Melbourne skyline. It has won an award in Oceanographic magazine’s Ocean Photography Awards 2020.
—
“at the end of the day, the ones who really matter
will be the ones standing next to you watching the sun set
and assuring you that it will rise again in the morning.”
-ash sweeney
—
story credit: natureblowsmymind